Bloggiesta Mini-Challenge: Come Up With 10 Post Ideas
It happens to the best of us. Life takes over your blog gets neglected. One way to prevent this is to come up with posts in advance and store them in your drafts until needed.
Problogger lists an excellent idea: mapping out future blog posts based on previous posts.
- Set-up: Get a piece of paper and draw five circles vertically along the paper. In the circles, write the titles of your last five blog posts.
- Extend Your Posts: Take each post and brainstorm ways the post can be extended. Answer a comment left on a previous post. Expand upon your answer. Expand upon an idea or opinion that you may have briefly mentioned in the previous post. For each idea draw a line out from the circle, draw a square (or use a different color) and write the idea inside of it.
- Extend Further: This step is optional. Expand upon the topics you have come up with and you’ll end up with even more post ideas!
Now to the challenge part! You have three options:
* upload an image of your mental mapping onto your blog. Comment on this post and include a link to your post.
* Create a new post based on your mental mapping. Comment on this post and include a link to your post.
* Leave a comment listing at least five of the ideas that you came up with as a result of your mental mapping.
Individuals who complete this challenge will be entered to win a publisher-sponsored prize.
Tags: Uncategorized
This sounds like fun! Will get back to it later… Shouldn’t get sidetracked yet
Thanks for hosting a great challenge Jenn! I often see in my reader posts like “I can’t think of anything to blog about today.” This will really help with that!
I love this idea! I’ll be focusing on this tonight when I get home.
Karin
Here is a copy of the post I did with my graphic organizer pictured.
http://karinlibrarian.wordpress.com/2010/01/08/bloggiesta-day-1-ole/
My post about the goals from your mental map activity.
http://karinlibrarian.wordpress.com/2010/01/08/goals-as-a-result-of-a-bloggiesta-mini-challenge/
Here is the post with my new feature as a result of the planning I did in this mini-challenge.
http://karinlibrarian.wordpress.com/2010/01/08/karinlibrarians-inaugural-read-a-like-post/
Thanks for the idea.
Karin
Hmm, I’m working on this but not having a whole lot of ideas.
My 5 brain-storm ideas.
(1) Is that book mine?
(2) Is that really me?
(3) Is Chocolate really good for you?
(4) Submission..What does that mean?
(5) How hard can it be to clean a house?
Jenn -
Thanks for this useful way to figure out new ideas for blog posts. I will keep this post linked in my Bloggiesta update for reference.
Here are my ideas for 5 posts listed in my Bloggiesta update post:
Post of 2009 book winnings from contests – this will be a huge post.
Post a link up of all the authors and their books whom subscribe to my blog and link it on the side bar.
New blogging awards – created by me that are sitting in a file but have been too busy to hand them out.
Create a list of “top of the pile”, “ dream list”, “lust list” or “need to be read” books.
Create posts around a few seasonal, specialty, or holiday days with related linked books lists for them within the year.
Hopefully these ideas will be useful to other bloggers.
I posted my graphic organizer on my blog. Here are my top 5:
1. Add links to all of my books (goodreads)
2. Add pics to jazz up the posts
3. Visit other sites that are participating in the same activities and add more comments.
4. Format my reviews
5. Add additional information to contests…what book I want/why/summary of books I am trying to win (with links)
Twitter: bookjourney
#
My five:
1) Morning Meandering Post idea: Friends and Book Conversations
2) How To Use A Google Spreadsheet
3) How do I get my pictures on my posts to look the way they do
4) Blog Buttons!
5) Audio Wars
January 11th, 2010 at 1:50 PM
Great ideas, Sheila!
Great idea, thanks! Here’s a link to my post about your mini-challenge. I thought I didn’t really need this because I am naturally a talker…how wrong I was! This was really useful! http://helensbookblog.blogspot.com/2010/01/bloggiesta-come-up-with-10-post-ideas.html
After doing some mapping, here are five of the ideas I came up with:
1 – drawbacks of reading too much (forget about some books that we loved at the time, because we read too many good books or because they aren’t that good)
2 – What makes books so enduring, what gives them that timeless feel and can books with pop culture references last?
3 – Book awards and why we need them – criteria that are used to judge them (do appeal and popularity have a place?)
4 – Expectations when it comes to sequels or authors we enjoy – do we set ourselves up to be disappointed?
5 – historical fiction – how much is history and how much real? Are the lines too blurred, do we need to know exactly what is and is not based on fact?
Fun exercise and I hope to use some of these ideas for future posts!
January 11th, 2010 at 1:49 PM
Great post ideas!
1. Institute bi-weekly series spotlights
2. Hold interviews in conjunction with a spotlight/review/giveaways
3. Challenges to be instituted with giveaways
4. Author spotlights (without reviews)
5. Reader discussion questions…I love this one. *DIBS*
Thanks for this great challenge…helped a ton.
This challenge was a little more challenging than I thought it would be!! I’ve been trying to load my slides for a couple of days on here (only b/c I don’t have a way to post a pic). It’s finally done though and I’ve accomplished this task!
Thanks for a great challenge!!
My <a href="http://molcotw.blogspot.com/2010/01/bloggiesta-challenge-update-and-day-1.html" 10 Post Ideas Post
Some of my super lame ideas:
1. Maybe hold my own contest if I ever actually reach 5o followers.
2. WWW series post
3. Post reviews for my challenges
4. post challenge start up post
5. Post something comment worthy/thought provoking?
Yeah, thats all I got.
http://www.readnowsleeplater.com/2010/01/brainstorm-now-to-bed.html
Yay! I spent about 15 hours total on Bloggiesta, and this is my last mini-challenge except for Comments. Now I can go and rest in peace (I mean, take a nap before work) ^_^
Got my five post ideas at the very bottom of this post: http://readwhatyouknow.wordpress.com/2010/01/09/bloggiesta-mini-challenge-post/
Thanks for such a great brainstorming challenge!
Okay finally got somewhere with this. I posted with my mental map here: http://smsbookreviews.blogspot.com/2010/01/bloggiesta-mini-challenge-brainstorm.html
1. Post more about nonfiction, not reviews but other things.
2. Do regular challenge progress updates instead of updating each post
3. Work on giveaways and events for holidays and special times
4. Get back to putting reviews on GoodReads same time I post them.
5. Do posts about what my kids are reading.
January 11th, 2010 at 1:48 PM
Great job, Callista!
Twitter: BethFishReads
#
Awesome challenge! I am bookmarking this page to come back to. I will definitely rely on this method in the future.
Fun! I’ve been thinking about both my favorite posts and those that I get the most comments on and how to combine the two.
1. Post more about television (it’s too much to review episode by episode, but I also tend to ignore this part of my pop cultural review life).
2. Post reviews on Amazon, goodreads, LibraryThing the day they post on my blog rather than when I write them. My blog should be first.
3. Use Sunday Salon as opinion/issue posts. I’ve started doing this sporadically, but I would really like to use Sundays to talk about issues (usually bookish ones).
4. Create a button for Dinner & A Movie Monday and turn it into a meme. Advertise it.
5. Do follow-up posts. As a means of posting every day without reading a book a day (I wish), do follow-up posts to books that either stayed with me more than I thought they would or those I’ve forgotten I thought I loved.
Thanks! I’ll end up blogging about these things too!
January 11th, 2010 at 1:47 PM
These are all fabulous ideas!
Here’s a few of the ideas I’ve came up with:
1. Mini-reviews on children’s books
2. More in-depth posts on what I’m currently reading
3. Do a lists post
4. Do a links post
5. More in-depth library loot post
January 11th, 2010 at 1:47 PM
Good work!
I used to love brain-storming in Creative Writing Class. It was so much easier then though XD You say something nutters and someone in the class will go ‘I LOVE IT!’ and write a story to it.
1) Themes and Me–change up my style so I can stop falling into a rut of reading
2) Organizing–I have none. My shelves are in chaos since I began blogging!
3) Joint Reviews–I want to do some with bloggers I am friends with
4) Reviews with my Sister–honestly the two of us have a lot of fun doing this for a local radio program, but we’ll see if we can translate it to words.
5) More Convention coverage!–I go to a lot of conventions but never cover anything at them! I’m going to improve that for the new year!
January 11th, 2010 at 1:43 PM
Good job!
Twitter: cococroissants
#
thanks for this here is my link:
http://chocolateandcroissants.blogspot.com/2010_01_01_archive.html#5162706741762463150
1. New approaches that a different from other posts-eg talk about the author’s home town, burial site, place where they received inspiration to write.
2. explore independent bookstores.
3. I have so many cookbooks-start cooking from them and posting the recipes and end result.
4. Do a theme-eg French food/books relating to France.
5. Relate the themes to special days-Valentines Day, Chinese New Year,
January 11th, 2010 at 1:43 PM
These are all great ideas!
Interesting idea! I just might have to use it.
Right now I have an email folder filled with random ideas…
The Book Faery Reviews – tbfreviews.net
Farrah’s Little Place in the Blogosphere – farrah.tbfreviews.net
My most recent posts haven’t been the most interesting, so I struggled a bit, but here are my favorites that I came up with:
1)Spotlight posts on my favorite genres – why I like them & great examples
2)A reading challenge organized around issues of class (I’ve never organized a challenge – and never even joined one before today! – so I don’t know how feasible this is or anything)
3)Unfulfilled expectations – books that I expected to get lots of love that were left by the wayside
4)Book meta – books that prominently feature other books
5)Under-represented groups/times in historical lit
January 11th, 2010 at 1:42 PM
Great ideas!
I’ve always got some post ideas bumping around on the back burner, mostly grand round-ups for an author or a series, so here are my five ideas to come back to on a rainy day:
1. E.L. Konigsburg in review (finished her newest book in the summer and now I’m ready to do capsule reviews of them all… except it’s been so long since I started the first one that by now I’ve probably forgotten some of them)
2. Runaways by the collection (read six, have a few more to go, really wanted to review each one briefly)
3. the many faces of Coraline (the book vs. the graphic novel vs. the musical vs. the movie, which I have yet to see)
4. that post I started that was a meme about library habits, but could become a grander love song to Brooklyn Public Library
5. posts on neglected favorites (The Impossible People, Peppermints in the Parlor, The Brothers Lionheart)
January 11th, 2010 at 1:42 PM
Impressive list!
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y6/bittahsweetharmony/Snapshot_20100110_2.jpg
There’s my picture!
Some things I thought up were:
1. Doing a Kiddie Korner section for any kids books.
2. Adding book trailers to reviews
3. Doing IMM posts in a more creative video, trailer-like feel.
4. Adding a guest review to blogger spotlights
5. Holding a swag contest with weekly Blogger Spotlights
January 11th, 2010 at 1:42 PM
Great job!
I included my post about this in with my bloggiesta wrap-up: http://heidenkind.blogspot.com/2010/01/uno-dos-tres-hecho.html
I am finally finished! You should click on my last post just to see how cute the cat rug is I found when I went looking for photos of circles. http://sallyhanan.wordpress.com/2009/06/20/be-prepared-for-blogging-interruptions/
Five posts to expand on:
1. Helpful hints on book blogging
2. Favorite book themes
3. Informational posting about supernatural creatures
4. Fav. couples
5. Expand on current (or just read) subjects in books that interest me
Thanks so much for the method for developing new posting ideas. Here are a few that I came up with using your approach:
1. Identify the next reading series as a follow up to Anna Karenina
2. Perform a comparison post for Kitty and Levin vs. Anna and Vronsky
3. Conduct my first author interview
4. Research the historical setting for one of the books I’ve read and post about it.
5. Establish a weekly reading summary.